Vietnamese

Vietnamese Water Puppets

• Tradition dates back to the tenth Century
• Originated in the Red River Delta area of northern Vietnam.
• When the rice paddies flooded the villagers used the flooded paddies to invent Water Puppetry for entertainment.

• Built of old fig wood
• Made durable by seven layers of paint
• Popular colors are black, green, lotus petal, yellow, and flesh-tone
• Shows are performed in waist-deep water
• A large rod supports the puppets under the water which is manipulated by puppeteers.
• To the audience, the puppet appear to move over the water.

• In ancient times, the villagers would compete against each other with these puppet shows.
• Therefore, puppet societies would become secretive and exclusive in order to develop the most creative puppets.
• Initiation into one of these puppet societies would involve drinking rooster blood.
• Only recently were women allowed to join the puppet troupes.
• Most famous guild of Water Puppets is the Hong Phong guild

• Water puppets were invented as a way to satisfy the many spirits who controlled all aspects of the rural Vietnamese life.
• Therefore the shows were both entertainment and worship.

• Performed in a pool of water 4 meters square
• The water surface is the stage.
• Can be in one of three different venues—on traditional ponds in villages, on portable tanks built for traveling performance, or in a specialized building where a pool stage has constructed.
• Will have up to 8 puppeteers
• Stand behind a split-bamboo screen
• Decorated to resemble a temple façade
• Use long bamboo rods and string mechanism hidden beneath the water to control the puppets
• A traditional Vietnamese orchestra provides the background music that accompanies the performance.
• Instruments include the following: vocals, drums, wooden bells, cymbals, horns, erhu (Chinese two-stringed fiddle), and bamboo flutes.
• Certain instruments accompany certain character—the flute would suggest royalty while the loud drums and cymbals may introduce a fire-breathing dragon
• Cheo is a type of opera that originated in north Vietnam which is sung to tell the story being acted out by the puppets.
• During the performance, the musicians and the puppets interact—the mausicians may yell a word or warning to a puppet in danger or a word of encouragement to a puppet in need.
• Puppets may enter from either side of the stage or emerge from the water.
• The stage is decorated with colorful flags and spotlights.

• Skits have a strong reference to Vietnamese folklore.
• May tell of day-to-day living in rural Vietnam.
• Often have stories of the harvest, of fishing, and of festivals.